Delayed Calculations
by imamnotgoodatthis
Summary: What if Kirito never figured out that Heathcliff was Akihiko Kayaba during the boss battle on the 75th floor? What if Kirito didn't clear the game on that day? Read on what happens as Kirito and Asuna frantically rushes to clear the game. The hospitals can't support them forever. At least, except for Asuna.
1. Chapter 1

" _Kirito!"_ A familiar voice shouted. _"Kirito-kun! Come back to me, please—Oh please, not now, hold on just a little more."_

My eyes snapped open and immediately, I was facing a familiar face. "Asuna…" I croaked. "What happened?"

She smiled weakly, but her eyes told a different story. That's just one of many things that I love about Asuna. She always tries to make everyone feel so assured.

I sat up and inwardly smirked, but transitioned into a frown as soon as it came. _"God, I wish I was as strong as her."_

"We cleared the boss at the 95th floor, not too long ago." She said and incased me with a tight hug. "You fought well, Kirito-kun."

I hugged back and tried to muster enough energy to reciprocate Asuna's actions. I groaned while trying to do so.

But I know it wasn't possible.

I checked my surroundings. A lot of deaths have occurred since we cleared the 87th floor, but majority isn't because of the murder guilds, or a terrible boss death. It's because the real world is failing us. It's because the hospitals couldn't cover for us any much longer.

A lot of the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath are sprawled around the floor; some are even passed out, even though their health bars are still on green. I hate to say it, but I'm also facing the similar problem.

Asuna and I predicted this. We predicted it before clearing the 50th floor. I cringed. I should've been stronger, been faster, been better, been smarter. I slacked off too much.

How could I let this happen?

"It's not your fault." Asuna piped up. I jerked by the sudden statement. "Sorry…I thought I was losing you." She put a hand up my cheek and pecked my lips.

"Asuna…how'd—" I was cut off by Asuna when she said, "Kirito, I know you." She giggled. "It's 2025 now, almost 2026 actually."

She's right. It's November 7, 2025. "Wait—"

"Somebody help him!" A guild member screamed. Our heads shot at the direction of the sound and there we see a guild member lying on another guild member's lap.

"What's happening?!" Asuna exclaimed and rushed to their direction. I got up and slowly made my way there was well.

The member lying down was getting blurry, as if he was disconnecting. He was glitching and his avatar was disassembling and contorting till it finally decided to gradually fade.

Asuna grabbed his hand, and the member who was supporting him grabbed his other hand too. "As the second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, I relieve you of your duties of a swordsman of the front lines." Asuna said rather quickly.

A tear rolled down her cheek, "Thank you." Her voice cracked "For all you've do—"

"Don't do this, man!" The member supporting him exclaimed. Tears were rolling down his face, "Hold on, please. We're so near to the last floor. WE'VE FOUGHT SO HARD TOGETHER, YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE!"

The fading member laughed weakly and said, "You idiot." He raised a fist to his friend's face and softly punched him, not even leaving a dent in his health bar and smirked.

"I'll see you soon?!" The healthy member asked. His eyes scanned the fading presence on his lap, frantically looking for a way to keep him here.

The fading member shook his head sideways, as if he was trying to conceal the tears. "You can't stifle tears here." Asuna said, with a fresh batch of tears cascading her face.

"Take as long as you need to." He said and looked up. He took a final breath and closed his eyes.

We all closed our eyes when we heard the familiar sound of a player's death. By the time we opened them, we watched the crystals fly along with the wind. There was nothing but complete silence.

I looked down and clenched my fists. "Enough!" I shouted. "I can't just let this keep happening!"

A newfound fury bubbled inside of me and it gave me strength, enough strength that I blindly picked up a stray rock and forcefully threw it in a random direction.

Little did I know that it was heading for Heathcliff, the guild's first-in-command.

"Heath—" But it was too late.

" **IMMORTAL OBJECT"**

My eyes widened in disbelief.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys! Thank you for staying loyal to this fic I'm writing. . I'm not even sure if I'm doing this well but HEY I just needed to get this out of my system. And eh, I decided to just keep adding chapters if I need to instead of a two shot hehehehe

Also, did you guys notice my Yuuki foreshadowing during a player's death? If you did THEN GOOD JOB HEHE, if you didn't, I suggest that you watch Sword Art Onine II it's so friggin awesome.

Anyway, here's the next chapter!

* * *

"No way..." I said. But there it was, wide and clear.

A purple sign popped up saying **IMMORTAL OBJECT** right next to him. Right next to the most powerful player in SAO.

I jolted my head up, everything started to make sense now. The duel we had, when I was sure that I had him, I knew that no one can dodge it in time, judging by his age and the fact that he had full armor on.

I slowly picked up my Elucidator and charged at Heathcliff as fast as I could. I scrunched my eyebrows and aimed my sword toward his heart. I roared when I supposedly hit him, but the barrier was strong enough to send me flying backwards and the purple sign popped up once again.

"You..." I trailed off, carefully picking my words. I looked at his eyes and said, "You're the game master. You are...Akihiko Kayaba...aren't you?"

Everyone started buzzing. The dungeon was suddenly filled with whispers and gasps. I stared at Heathcliff, no, Akihiko grinned.

"An immortal object? Commander Heathcliff," Asuna said with the sound of disbelief dripping and the noise died down a bit, "What is going on?"

I stepped up, "I think I have an idea. The reason why the Commander's HP never reaches yellow is because he's protected by the system." The dungeon was filled with whispers and gasps once again.

I continued, "I always wondered what Akihiko Kayaba's hiding since day 1. What was he doing while we were all fighting for our lives?" I scoffed a little, "Actually, the answer's pretty simple, it's basic psychology. No one wants to just sit around and watch other people play, hell, even a kid knows that. Isn't that right, Akihiko Kayaba?"

He faced me, "Just out of curiosity, would you mind telling me how you figured it out?" He grinned, "Oh wait-speculations started when we dueled, didn't it? It was a mistake to think that it would go unnoticed, how foolish of me."

I nodded and clenched my fists. Asuna was just behind me and gave my shoulders a squeeze. I looked at her and her face spelled nothing but disbelief. Empty eyes and a far gaze which only meant that she was recalling every even she spent fighting with Akihiko.

"Yes I am, Akihiko Kayaba." 5 words was enough to set 500 men shocked. "It should come natural to you that I am the final boss of the top floor. Kinda cliche isn't it? But I always kind of liked that." Akihiko said. "I even expected you to be the person who figures this out and honestly, I thought you would've figured it out sooner. Now isn't that cliche?"

I scoffed. "Dual wielding is a rare skill, Kirito." Akihiko started again, "That skill can only be given to the player with the fastest reaction time. But you? Your power exceeded my expectations." He looked at me with a dark expression, "Kirito, not too long ago, we witnessed a player die. Not out because of the game, but because of real world failu-"

"SHUT UP!" A voice said, "HE DIED BECAUSE OF THIS GAME, HE WOULDN'T BE IN A HOSPITAL FOR 3 YEARS IF IT WASN'T FOR THIS GAME!"

The owner of the voice was the same person who laid his fading friend on his lap, he ran and screamed, and made his way through the crowd. He jumped up and wielded his sword and aimed for Akihiko. "You-our loyalty, our dedication-everything just doesn't add up!"

Akihiko then raised two fingers and gestured it downwards and a set of buttons popped up. _Wait, he's-_

The member who tried to attack him was now down on the floor, paralyzed. Akihiko turned to us, "You know, I could paralyze you anytime I want."

Everyone froze on their spots. "Kirito-kun..." Asuna said weakly.

Heathcliff then laughed a little and straightened up. "But of course, it wouldn't be fair." He looked at me, dead at my eyes.

My heart pulsed and I looked around me once again. _He's right,_ I thought.

"Psh." Someone piped up from the crowd, "Fuck. You." and spat on the ground.

Everyone was frozen. Everyone's face twitched at what one of the guild members just said. Akihiko raised two of his fingers and gestured it downward again. Everyone watched in silence and fear. God knows how much I want to stop this.

"Aghh!" I screamed in pain. "W-what's h-happening?" I managed to strangle out of my throat. I fell to the ground, and soon enough, everyone did too. The sound of their screams will forever remain in my memory, especially Asuna's.

I twisted my head to the right to take in the full scenario. _This isn't good_ , I thought, _Soon enough, the hospitals would have a meltdown._ I spotted a familiar red head, dressed in the Fuurinkazan guild uniform. He was glitching, his avatar getting distorted and blurry.

"K-K.." I gritted, "Klein!" I screamed. "I-I still have d-dinner to treat you when we-we get back to the re-real world! You better h-hold on! KLEIN!"

I waited for a response and was busy trying to keep myself whole, "Y-You got it!" Klein replied. "It better b-be the Fiver-FourtyFive p-pizza I missed!"

I grinned and yelped in pain again, and I glitched. My heart dropped to my stomach. "Kirito! Ack.." Asuna said.

I looked at her and stretched out my fingers to her only to drop my hand immediately after. _Wait..._ I painfully raised my hand and moved all of my fingers one at a time. _Shouldn't I be...paralyzed?_

"Kirito-kun! It hurts!" Asuna exclaimed. I looked at Asuna carefully, she was clutching her abdomen tightly while rocking forward and backward a bit. "Asuna...it's gonna be alright." I croaked.

I looked up and noticed how almost everyone was glitching, and a few handful weren't. Asuna was part of the minority. _Could it be...their hospitals...support better?_ And I suddenly felt that I didn't know Asuna as much as I thought.

I looked down again and now only my elbows are supporting me. I squeezed my eyes tightly. I felt someone grip my arm, and it was Asuna. She moved from her spot. "Kirito, we're not paral-"

Then suddenly the pain stopped. Everyone around us dropped to the floor, panting.

"I kept my word." Akihiko said. "I didn't perform paralysis, but instead, I adjusted the pain tolerance and set it all to level 3. Normally, it would've been on 8 but somebody decided to the daring."

"Stop!" I shouted. "Battle me now. Let's end it. I can't keep this going on any further."

"Kirito are you nuts?" Klein shouted. A chorus of words formed, but I didn't care about what they said. I'm finishing this and I'm finishing this now.

"In your condition?" Asuna and Akihiko said at the same time. "Kirito please think about this!" Asuna shouted desperately.

I looked at her and smiled, "Remember when I said that I'd give my whole life to you?" She nodded, "I have faith in you, Kirito-kun."

Something bubbled in my stomach, but I know it was a good thing. Confident? No. Skilled? A good chance maybe. "You have to drop your immortality and you can't be supported by the system, that's all what I'm asking." I said.

"Hmph." Akihiko chuckled, "You never cease to go beyond my expectations, Kirito-kun. I accept your brave challenge."

He did the downwards gesture again with his two fingers and dropped his immortality and lowered his health a bit.

But he wasn't done yet. "To make sure no one interferes," He tapped on the button with the gear sign on it and tapped on the 'PAIN TOLERANCE' sub category. My eyes widened. Akihiko moved the meter down to 5 and everyone started to belt out pain except for me, just not as horrible as before, probably even a bit bearable.

"I've set the pain tolerance of everyone to level 5. The exact level to manipulate the feeling of being paralyzed." Akihiko said. I equipped my Repulsor and readied my battle stance and said;

"Let's begin. No holding back."


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's begin. No holding back." I readied my fighting stance. My Elucidator on my right hand, and my Dark Repulser on my left.

I watched Akihiko Kayaba carefully as he wielded his sword and gripped his shield. He positioned himself like he always does on battle. Standing tall and straight, yet his sword is always pointed to the enemy.

Noise was starting to buzz behind me again, yet I choose to ignore it. I inhaled and exhaled, _This isn't just a normal game,_ I thought. I scrunched my eyebrows, _It's a duel...to the death._

 _...And that's fine with me. 'Cuz I'm going to kill him_.

I ran straight to him, as my first move and continuously rammed both swords at a time at him. I was blocked numeral times, his defense-his shield is impeccable. But I was only getting started. I swung each sword with more and more force that was enough to send him skidding backwards each hit.

He swung his sword and dodged it, a few strands of my hair getting cut. I countered, and hit again yet he dodged by taking a leap back. I swung my Elucidator yet he countered it with his shield and swung his sword at me, but missed.

I continued my dual wielding, _He can block whatever_ _I throw at him, because he designed the dual wielding skill,_ my hands ached. His sword aimed straight for me but I managed to block it using both my swords. _He knows all its combos, I have to beat him with my own power without using the sword skills._ I pushed his sword downwards using both swords and leapt backwards.

I charged at him again, both swords swung back because of my speed, I rammed my Elucidator on his shield and somersaulted over him and charged at him again. I swing my sword and manage to change positions once again. _Faster._

His shield was blocking my every move, but I won't give up. _I have to go faster._ I readied my Dark Repulser for a skill, it's blue-green light emitting. _Not yet. Just a little bit more._ I continued swinging both swords and was continuously driving him backwards. A cloud of dust and dirt was forming around us as we dueled. His shield, keeping his face and body unharmed, and that annoyed me to my core. It drove me.

But something...something was weighing me down.

We both leaped backwards at the same time. I was still at my fighting stance, yet Akihiko Kayaba just stood there, looking at me then immediately looking at his side.

I used my peripheral vision, it annoyed me that he was distracted. I looked to my left a bit. But I immediately regret it, because after noticing what was going on, I snapped my head to the left and saw people...disintegrating. One by one.

A lot of them were glitching, a lot were fading piece by piece. A scream was emitted or a cry every time the familiar sounds of a player's death happens. I then looked at Kayaba, yet to only see that he was looking back at me.

Oddly, he wasn't staring into my eyes like usual, yet he was staring at a certain part of me. I tried not to give in, but my curiosity averted my eyes downward. I gasped, my right thigh...it was...

Glitching.

My head suddenly swirled and something heavier than my heart dropped to my stomach. I wanted to puke, but I tried to shake out of it as fast as I can. "What the hell are you waiting for?" I shouted at Kayaba. I readied my fighting stance and he readied his.

"Stay calm, Kirito." I heard someone shout from the crowd. I charged at him once again and swung each sword in different patterns.

His shield repeatedly blocked me and I barely dodged a swing from him, but I kept going. _I have to do this._ I thought. I remembered the previous guild I was in, Sochi and Silica.

I swung faster, and stronger. I remembered Klein when I tried to get the revival stone. I remembered Liz and how much fun we had trying to make my Dark Repulser.

Kayaba jabbed his sword to my face again, yet I was too slow. His sword grazed my left cheek, a very small part of my health bar decreased. I was shocked, yet this angered me more. My heart beat has gone faster and I screamed as my Dark Repulser was about to swing.

I thought about Asuna, and for a second, I thought that I have won. My sword was making its way to Kayaba's torso.

That's what I thought, at least.

Pain shot through my right thigh, where supposedly my glitching was, and I cried out in pain, slightly affecting my speed. Kayaba saw through this and grinned. Soon enough, my Elucidator was emitting its skill light too.

Repeatedly and repeatedly aiming for his torso, somewhere I can find relief in, but Kayaba saw through all of it and kept blocking it with his damn shield. I groaned out of frustration. I was getting a bit tired-no. I can't think like that. I can't let them down.

...But I've already let them down. _I'm sorry, everyone. I'm sorry Asuna, please. Keep living._

I aimed my Dark Repulser directly to Kayaba, using the skill. I closed my eyes, I know this wouldn't work, but I kept going anyway. I screamed but my attack was blocked by his shield again.

But this time, my Dark Repulser broke.

My eyes widened, and for a second I couldn't move. I was completely vulnerable to any attack of Kayaba, it's too late now.

I looked to the guild members once again, and I saw two people die again...and I'm gonna be coming with them. I shifted my eyes to where Asuna was supposedly was, but she wasn't exactly there.

My eyes widened even more as I saw her running to us, _No..._ _not you, Asuna._

I stepped down and pushed off fast enough.

Fast enough to block Asuna from Kayaba's attack.

Fast enough to get stabbed through my gut.

* * *

 **TBC.**


End file.
